


Didn't Stand A Chance

by kantiris



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blind Date, F/F, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 18:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7855921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kantiris/pseuds/kantiris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Your friend set you up on a blind date and I happened to be alone so you thought you were meeting me and you were cute so I went along with it but you just got a text from said friend that they’re sorry your date stood you up and now I have some explaining to do” AU</p><p>Or:<br/>Clexa fumbling and being dumb and embarrassing with each other in a modern/college setting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Didn't Stand A Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Didn't Stand A Chance by Travis Garland, please give it a listen if you get a chance!
> 
> I've never posted any of my writing before, but there's a first for everything, I guess. A little light-hearted something of my favorite couple to break back into writing.
> 
> Special thanks to alycialoo on tumblr.

It was a bad idea. A very bad idea. Raven’s very bad idea.

“Look, I have my perspective assignment due by next week. I don’t think I have time to be doing-”

“Clarke, art school can wait. You’ll be fine, it’ll go great!” Raven waved her cereal spoon emphatically and ignored Clarke’s playful scowl. “I’m afraid it’s been so long since you’ve had any action that you’ve forgotten what it feels like.” She pulled a face of mock tragedy.

Octavia chose that precise moment to poke her head out from behind the refrigerator door to add, “Yeah, it’s been what, like over a year?”

“No it hasn’t! ...Has it?” Clarke flushed from annoyance and embarrassment. “It hasn’t been that long. There was that girl, remember, Niylah?”

“Oh, I definitely remember that one,” Raven said with a look of horror. “Plus, that barely counts. I walked in on you halfway.” She poked Clarke with the back end of her spoon. “Anyways, this girl is supposed to be super hot and she’s one of Lincoln’s friends.”

“We really need to buy more food,” Octavia said, finally shutting the refrigerator door after staring at the nearly empty shelves for a good five minutes. “And Linc’s friends are great. How bad can a blind date go?”

Raven hummed in approval. 

“Why not Raven?” Clarke grumbled. 

“Dude. After someone like Wick, you’d want to take a break from boys too.”

“And Finn?” Clarke pointed out. “They’re like two peas in pod.”

“Which is why we’re setting you up with a girl.” 

Damn. They had her there. While it was true that Clarke hadn’t been with anyone seriously since Finn ... Had it really already been over a year? But her perspective teacher had asked her to finish her piece by next week, and it seemed near impossible to dredge up the motivation since the point of Clarke’s illustration major at her art school was exactly the opposite of drawing tedious lines over and over again. All she wanted was to paint what she liked. Unfortunately for Clarke, Arkadia Academy of the Arts had different plans for her. Stupid second-year requirement classes. 

“Look, now’s not a really good time-” Clarke began.

“Too late, I already told Linc you said yes,” Octavia cut in, looking up from her phone, a wide smirk on her face. “Trust us, we’re doing what’s best for you.”

Raven nodded in agreement while finishing off her cereal and Clarke just heaved a futile sigh. Her two housemates and best friends were going to be the end of her. 

“She’s a third-year like Lincoln and goes to Polis University with Raven and I. Meet her at 1PM today at the cafe up the street,” Octavia said before slinging her bag over her shoulder. “She’ll be the hot one sitting alone. I have class till 3:00, but I expect a full report tonight.” With that and a wide grin, she was gone out the front door.

Raven watched her leave then adjusted her leg brace before getting up to toss her bowl and spoon in the sink while Clarke was still reeling from the sudden blind date. 

“Raven, do you think this is a good idea?” 

“Clarke,” Raven made a point to make eye contact. “Look, you’re definitely ready to get out there and it’ll be nice to have something to focus on that’s not school. Anyways, since you introduced O to Lincoln from Arkadia, the least she can do is set you up with someone from Polis.”

“Sometimes I wish I never introduced Lincoln and O to each other. I don’t think I can ever sit on that end of the couch again,” Clarke groaned, eyeing the far edge of the couch in the living room. 

Raven made a face and ignored her comment. “Admit it, you’re happy that you go to an art school literally right across the street from our university. You get to live with your high school besties and hook up with people from both schools,” Raven said before disappearing into her room to get ready for class.

“Not sure if living with you two is something to be happy about,” Clarke called as the overfilled trash can caught her eye. “I’m guessing I’m the one who has to take out the trash again?”

Raven gave her signature grin while wriggling into her jeans. “You don’t have class today, so you gotta do the chores. Divide and conquer.”

“It’s not dividing if I literally do all the house chores.” 

\--

Lexa woke up at exactly 6:29AM on Friday morning, one minute before her alarm was set to go off. Groaning over her lost minute of sleep, she rolled out of her bed. The apartment was quiet, and Lexa could faintly hear the birds chirping outside. Anya was probably still asleep, because who in their right mind had an 8AM class on a Friday? Lexa. Lexa did. And severely regretted it. 

After she got ready, Lexa walked quickly to class, the brisk morning air shaking the remnants of sleep from her body. She saw other groggy, miserable students who shared her misfortune of taking an 8AM class. It always amused Lexa to guess if the students she saw were from Polis University or Ark Academy of the Arts, and she could usually tell from the way they dressed. Suppressing a smile, Lexa ducked into her class as her phone buzzed. It was almost time for class to start, so she put it on silent so as not to get distracted and stashed it in her bag to check later. 

It was a struggle to focus. Even though it was one of her major’s requirements and Lexa really enjoyed political science, a lecture on Diplomacy and Negotiation wasn’t exactly high on her list of places she wanted to be at such an early hour. The hour and fifteen minutes dragged on for what seemed like an eternity, and as soon as the professor finally finished his lecture, Lexa beelined for Starbucks to get the caffeine boost she hadn’t had time for earlier. While she was waiting, she remembered the text she had gotten earlier. Lexa pulled out her phone and unlocked it. 

7:58AM Anya: Don’t forget to take out the trash today.

Typical of Anya to make Lexa do the chores. Which was better for Lexa actually because Anya always threw away recycling with the trash. Lexa tapped out a reply and pocketed her phone to get her coffee and make her way home.

\--

Clarke got up from the couch after a couple episodes of Parks and Recreation, looking for more reasons to put off her inevitable perspective homework. She hated chores, but she hated perspective even more, and she still had to take out the trash. Putting her hair up in a messy bun, Clarke pulled on an oversized Arkadia sweater before dragging the trash out. 

Clarke threw the trash into the large bin and turned around, promptly running head first into someone. She muttered out a hasty “Sorry,” and made to sidestep the person.

“You have to separate plastic bottles from the trash, you know.”

Well that wasn’t the response Clarke expected. 

“Usually people say, ‘It’s okay’ in response to an apology,” Clarke said wryly. She took a step back to get a good look at the person she accidentally headbutted. A few loose strands from neatly plaited brown hair framed the stranger’s face and high cheekbones, swept out of the way of her clear green eyes. The sleeves of her clean white button up were rolled up to the elbows, and a tattoo on her upper arm was slightly visible through the sheer fabric of her shirt. Clarke’s gaped at the sight of the gorgeous girl, but she quickly shut her mouth and swallowed hard, hoping that her brief ogling went unnoticed. 

The stranger’s expression remained impassive and unreadable. “In that case, it’s okay. That you bumped into me. Not that you threw bottles in the trash, though. You should separate them because recycling saves and reduces energy consumption, which keeps general production costs low because energy is cheaper. And landfills don’t fill up as much.” 

Was this girl for real? Clarke stared, this time in disbelief. Here she was, blonde hair in a messy bun, in her college hoodie and stained sweatpants, getting a lecture on benefits of recycling from a (quite literally) jaw-droppingly attractive, all too serious, well-dressed stranger. Before 10AM on her free day. How was she supposed to react to this?

“Um. Alright. I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” Clarke managed to say before hurriedly walking back to her apartment without looking back. She had better things to do than to be lectured on recycling. She had a blind date to get ready for, a girl to impress, if only it got Raven and Octavia off her back. And she definitely didn't have her perspective homework to do.

\--

Shit.

Lexa slid down and leaned her back against the door, sitting on the floor with her face in her hands. She had never seen the blonde in the apartment complex before, and the sight of a gorgeous blonde--exactly her type--in sweats and a hoodie made her flustered. How was it possible to look so good so effortlessly? And Lexa had just lectured her on recycling. Recycling. God, what a great first impression. Lexa was caught between wanting to see her again and never wanting to leave her apartment in favor of wallowing in embarrassment and shame. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the incredulous blue eyes, the slight downward curve of her mouth and a freckle right above her lip. 

They lived in the same apartment complex. Lexa hoped it was just big enough that they didn’t have to run into each other ever again. Ever. 

“Bad day in class?” 

Anya’s voice jarred Lexa from her thoughts and Lexa stood up, straightening out her clothes. 

“No. Just an unfortunate incident this morning.”

Anya smirked but didn't ask. “Well, I’m heading out now. Lincoln wants me to drop by his place tonight. I’ll tell him you say hello.”

Lexa nodded, and Anya was out the door a second later, leaving her alone with her embarrassment. Shaking herself to clear her head, Lexa decided to do her homework while the lecture was fresh in her mind. But no matter how much she stared at her assigned readings, the words wouldn’t get into her head. Instead, her thoughts drifted to a certain blonde’s disbelieving expression as Lexa had...berated her on the importance of recycling. Self-inflicted torture at its finest.

Before she knew it, it was already past noon and Lexa hadn’t eaten breakfast before class. Her stomach growled loudly. She was barely past 30 pages in two hours. Heaving a sigh, she decided to gather her things to grab a bite at the cafe up the street while trying to get work done.

If not, she might as well see some scenery and do a little people watching on a Friday afternoon.

\--

As Clarke was trying to figure out what to wear for her date, her eyes kept flicking to her phone. She had sent a text in the group chat with Raven and Octavia asking them for a photo or even name of the girl she was supposed to meet. It was fifteen minutes before Clarke was supposed to meet her, and all she knew of this blind date was that she was going to be “the hot one sitting alone” at the cafe up the street. A little more detail, or even a photo couldn’t hurt, but Clarke only received radio silence from her best friends. 

Clarke fiddled with the top buttons of her blouse, debating whether to keep them open or not before changing into a low cut t-shirt that matched her ripped jeans. The blind date was supposed to be casual, after all. At least she thought so. Clarke didn’t have much to go on besides Octavia’s vague description and the time of the date. 

Deciding her outfit was good enough, Clarke flashed a smile at her reflection and left.

\--

The change of scenery was a good choice, Lexa decided. She had finished her reading and was a couple paragraphs into her paper, all within an hour. It was a productive day so far, the morning’s incident all but forgotten. That is, until someone approached her and cleared their throat awkwardly. Lexa looked up to see none other than the blonde from that morning. The one who didn’t separate plastic bottles from trash. The one who had stared at her in disbelief as Lexa lectured her on about recycling. The one who was insanely hot. And this time, the girl was wearing makeup, her hair falling past her shoulders in waves. And instead of an Arkadia hoodie, she wore a very, very flattering shirt. She had already looked good in a messy bun and sweatpants, but now? Unreal. It took all of Lexa’s will to keep her expression steady.

“You’re the one who bumped into me this morning,” Lexa managed to say, struggling to keep her tone even.

“You’re the one who, um, educated me on recycling,” the blonde replied with a sheepish grin.

Lexa winced internally. “Can I help you?” she asked, closing her laptop to put it away, unconsciously making room for the girl to sit.

The girl sat down across from her. “Yeah, you’re Lincoln’s friend right? Third year at Polis?”

Lexa hesitated, then nodded slowly. How did she know that? Or Lincoln, for that matter?

“Well that’s awkward. I didn’t realize I already met my blind date this morning,” the girl said. 

Blind date? What was she talking about?

“I guess this is our official meeting then,” she continued. “My name’s Clarke. Clarke Griffin. I’m a second-year illustration major at Arkadia Academy of the Arts. And I don’t recycle,” she added with a wry chuckle, sticking out her hand.

Lexa shook her hand somewhat formally, biting her lip at the recycling comment. “Lexa Woods. Political science major.” What did this Clarke mean by blind date? Lexa was just about to open her mouth to ask that question when Clarke cut her off with a soft, low laugh. 

“To be honest, I’m actually kinda, really nervous right now. I haven’t been on an actual date in a long time.”

Lexa raised her eyebrows in confusion.

“I mean, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Clarke said hastily in response to her raised eyebrows. 

“I do want to,” Lexa blurted out before she could think. What? Clarke had obviously mistaken her for her blind date, but Lexa didn’t want to make it even more awkward by saying that this Clarke had gotten the wrong friend of Lincoln’s. Who was also a third year at Polis. What were the chances? Going against her conscience screaming at her not to do this, Lexa decided to go along with it. The worst that could happen was a conversation with someone who had the voice of angels, low, raspy, and undeniably sexy. 

“Oh.” Clarke sounded pleased. “So, Lexa Woods of Polis University. Are you sure you’re a political science major, not some environmental science major?”

Lexa bit her lip again. “Let’s pretend this morning never happened.”

Clarke laughed again. “Sure thing. Clean slate.” She winked at Lexa. “How do you know Lincoln? You go to Polis.”

Grateful for the change of topic, Lexa gave a nod. “Childhood friend. You?” Lexa winced internally again, this time at her painfully blunt answers.

“Boyfriend of one of my best friends, actually. And I shared a class with him at Arkadia. My best friends go to Polis and I introduced him to Octavia.”

Lexa gave another nod. She really needed to stop with all the unnecessary nods.

“I guess Octavia decided to return the favor and took Raven’s suggestion to set me up.” At Lexa’s slight confusion, she explained, “Raven’s my other best friend. A literal genius and a mechanical engineering major. She’s my age but she’s working on her master’s already. Octavia’s just at Polis for soccer. She’s studying, oh, I don’t even know anymore. She’s changed her major at least three times in two years.”

Lexa gave a small amused smile. “And you said you were an illustration major?”

“Yep. I like painting and drawing.”

Lexa’s smile grew slightly, wondering what her art looked like. “You must be good; Arkadia is one of the best art schools in America. Though Lincoln only got in for an architecture major.”

Clarke blushed at the compliment. “I only drew what I liked and I guess that was good enough.”

So Clarke was modest. Lexa was about to nod again before she caught herself. “What do you like to draw?” she asked instead.

Clarke took a moment to think. “Sometimes I draw my friends. Pretty scenery, pretty people.” She gave a playful wink at Lexa. “Just everyday life, you know? It’s nice to watch people go about their lives. I just draw when I feel inspired, but I haven’t felt inspired much since I ended things with F-” she cut herself off, looking away. Her playfulness suddenly faded, replaced by a quiet sadness.

“Bad break-up?” Lexa asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Clarke didn’t say anything, giving a tacit confirmation. 

“I lost someone special to me too,” Lexa admitted softly, keeping her gaze locked firmly on a bird outside the window. 

“Love is a risk,” Clarke said at length. “Sometimes it’s a disaster.”

Lexa said nothing. 

“But sometimes it’s worth it.” Clarke seemed to be talking more to herself than to Lexa.

“Is it?” Lexa murmured. She shifted her eyes to Clarke, and they held each other’s gaze for a couple seconds.

They were jerked back into reality when Clarke’s phone chimed. Clarke glanced down, looking somewhat dazed, and took a quick look at the text. Lexa waited for Clarke to type a response, somewhat irritated at the interruption.

“Um. Well, uh,” Clarke was lost with words, and Lexa looked at her expectantly, a little concerned at her sudden change in demeanor.

“Well,” Clarke started again. “Uh so Octavia just texted me. She said my supposed blind date had stood me up. But you’re here so...”

Lexa’s cheeks flushed faintly. She was caught red-handed. Before she could explain--she had no idea what she was going to say, exactly--Clarke kept talking, rambling on in her embarrassment. 

“God, Lexa, I’m so sorry. I just assumed you were who I was supposed to meet, because you were sitting alone and you’re really pretty and hot and-” Clarke stopped suddenly, flushing. “Oh god, this is embarrassing. You probably don’t even like girls and I just assumed-- I’m so sorry, Lexa, I--” 

“I do, though,” Lexa interrupted.

“-and I just-- Wait, what?” Clarke paused to take a breath.

“I do. Like girls, I mean.” 

“Oh.” Clarke slumped in her seat. “Well, this is a mess, isn’t it? First this morning, then this…” she trailed off. “This is so embarrassing.”

“No more for you than me.” 

They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Clarke mumbled,“I’m so going to kill Octavia and Raven.”

Lexa laughed. “Well, I have them to thank for meeting you.”

“Actually you have the trash to thank for that,” Clarke said, the awkwardness slowly but steadily fading away.

Lexa groaned. “I thought we agreed that never happened.”

\--

“What are the odds?” Clarke wondered out loud. “Polis third year, Lincoln’s friend, sitting alone in this cafe at the right time.” She fiddled with her hair to give her hands something to do besides tapping nervously on the table.

“Were you going to just go up to any girl sitting alone in this cafe?” Lexa asked, looking amused.

Clarke blushed again, thinking of Octavia’s description. “Well… Octavia did say to look for a hot girl sitting alone…” she trailed off, blushing even deeper. That made it twice that Clarke called Lexa hot. Out loud. To her face. 

“Thanks, I guess.” Lexa gave her another one of her small smiles that Clarke thought was endearing. How was she so composed when a stranger just came up to her, announcing that they were on a date? And went along with it, no less? 

Clarke’s thoughts were in overdrive when her phone chimed. And chimed again. And twice more. Giving Lexa a rueful glance, she pulled out her phone again to check the group chat.

12:17PM Clarkadia: O, can I get a photo of my date? or at least a name??

1:24PM O the Hoe: so, apparently ur date bailed, C. sorry :/

1:24PM Clarkadia: ??? she’s sitting in front of me tho? Lexa, right?

She scrolled down to the new messages.

1:32PM O the Hoe: dude no it was supposed to be a Harper?

1:32PM O the Hoe: who tf is Lexa

1:33PM Ray: ……..LMAO nice one

1:33PM O the Hoe: at least Clarke got herself a girl ;-)

1:33PM Clarkadia: guys this is so embarrassing

1:33PM Clarkadia: and she just WENT ALONG W IT

1:33PM Clarkadia: I luv to die

Clarke put her phone away and looked back up at Lexa, who was watching her intently with curious eyes.

“Sorry,” Clarke muttered. She shifted in her seat under Lexa’s intense gaze, and wanted nothing more but to go home and die in shame. “I think I have to go yell at Raven now.” Raven wouldn’t be home, but it wasn’t exactly a lie, Clarke figured. She did need to yell at Raven, but more importantly, she didn’t want to embarrass herself further than she already had today.

“Will we meet again?” Lexa’s expression was inscrutable.

The question caught Clarke off-guard, but the getting to know Lexa wasn’t something she wasn’t totally against. “I think I’d like that,” she said, trying to fight off a smile. It was unexpected, but she couldn’t deny that it was a pleasant surprise. “Here, give me your phone so I can put in my number and we can keep in touch.”

Lexa handed over her phone. The background image was a default one. Of course. Clarke didn’t know what else she expected from this serious, well dressed political science major. After she put in her number, Clarke texted herself a smiling emoji so she had Lexa’s number too. 

“There, all set.” Clarke handed back Lexa’s phone. “Are you going to stay here or…?” 

Lexa quickly shook her head. “No, I came here for lunch and to work on homework, but I’ve already done a lot.”

Homework. On a Friday afternoon. Clarke shook her head incredulously. 

“Alright then. May we meet again.” Clarke stuck out her hand for a handshake. For the second time that day. Why did she keep doing dumb things like shaking hands? Lexa shook her hand with what Clarke thought was a slightly confused expression on her face.

It wasn’t until they started walking in the same direction when it hit Clarke. They lived in the same fucking apartment complex and they had already said their goodbyes. How unfortunate and dumb did someone have to be to have three embarrassing mishaps with the same girl in the same day?

“Well. I guess we’re in the same apartment complex so…” Clarke trailed off. 

Lexa’s cheeks tinged pink, as if the thought just occurred to her as well. It was nice to note that she wasn’t as otherworldly perfect as Clarke initially thought. 

They walked home in silence, only exchanging goodbyes at the elevator when Clarke got off on the third floor. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind her, Clarke let out a loud groan. She still had Raven and Octavia’s teasing to face later when they got home, but for now, all Clarke wanted was to lie down in her bed. Letting out another groan, Clarke let herself into her apartment. Her perspective piece would have to wait until the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I want to dabble more in this college AU, but I'll keep it as a one-shot for now.  
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Find me on tumblr at kantiris.


End file.
